Minister of Justice and Attorney General Ralph Kasambara has refuted reports that he issued a statement announcing the country’s suspension of anti-homosexual law to pave way for public debate and parliamentary vote on the legislation. …

“There was no such announcement and there was no discussion about same sex marriages,” Kasambara said. He further expressed ignorance on whether or not Parliament will discuss same-sex laws as it meets this month.

“None has so far talked or debated about same sex marriages. The Penal Code does not regulate same sex marriages or any marriages at all,” he told The Daily Times.

In a later interview, Kasambara insisted “Nobody talked about suspension of any provision of the Penal Code.”

On Monday, Kasambara was quoted by Malawi Today as saying that Malawi would not prosecute anyone under the nation’s colonial-era sodomy law, which provides a penalty of fourteen years’ imprisonment at hard labor. “There is a moratorium on all such laws, meaning that police will not arrest or prosecute anyone based on these laws. These laws will not be enforced until the time that Parliament makes a decision,” he said. In a separate interview with Reuters, he said, “If we continue arresting and prosecuting people based on the said laws and later such laws are found to be unconstitutional it would be an embarrassment to government.”

(Minister of Justice Ralph) Kasambara, who is also Attorney General, said government wants to encourage debate and decide on whether laws against same- sex relationships should continue to be criminalized

“There is a moratorium on all such laws, meaning that police will not arrest or prosecute anyone based on these laws. These laws will not be enforced until the time that Parliament makes a decision,” he said.

Malawi’s anti-gay law carries a penalty of fourteen years’ imprisonment. Reuters has more:

“If we continue arresting and prosecuting people based on the said laws and later such laws are found to be unconstitutional it would be an embarrassment to government,” he (Kasambara) told Reuters.

“It is better to let one criminal get away with it rather than throw a lot of innocent people in jail.”

Earlier this year, President Joyce Banda called on Parliament to repeal the colonial-era anti-sodomy law, but was forced to back away when it became clear that the move had very little support. Banda’s call nevertheless was a marked improvement over her predecessor, the increasingly autocratic Bingu wa Mutharika, who appeared to be flowing in the footsteps of Zimbagwe’s Robert Mugabe when Mutharika commanded that reporters stop talking about those “satanic” gays. When Mutharika died in April 2012 of a heart attack, his supporters in the cabinet tried to implement a bloodless coup to prevent then-Vice President Banda, who also headed the opposition, from taking office. But when it became clear that the army would side with Banda and support the constitution, attempted melted and she was sworn in.

In her first state of the nation address to parliament, (President Joyce) Banda said: “Some laws which were duly passed by the august house… will be repealed as a matter of urgency… these include the provisions regarding indecent practices and unnatural acts.”

The BBC’s Raphael Tenthani in the main city, Blantyre, says the president has the support of a majority of MPs and so should be able to get parliament to overturn the law. However, he says it will be an unpopular move with many church leaders, as well as the wider population in this conservative country.

Banda’s call was part of a much larger sweeping announcment that many unpopular and controversial laws implemented by her predecessor would be revisited.

Banda became President after her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, died of a heart attack. Mutharika pardoned a couple in 2010 after they were found guilty of participating in a same-sex engagement ceremony and sentenced to fourteen years in prison. Mutharika then imperiously commanded that everyone stop talking about those “satanic” gays. As Mutharika’s rule became increasingly autocratic, a rift developed between him and vice President Banda. Meanwhile Britain suspended aid to Malawi over Mutharika’s autocratic rule, which included his police breaking up opposition protests with live ammunition.

When Mutharika died last month, his supporters tried to implement a bloodless coup to prevent Banda from taking office. But when it became clear that the army would side with Banda and support the constitution, opposition melted and she was sworn in. She is now reversing many of Mutharika’s policies in order to get donor funding restored.

“I wouldn’t say backing away is the right word. There are a number of other laws that have also received public comments, and what the government is doing is, we are taking the opportunity to look at all those laws, and we are referring those laws and provisions to the Malawi Law Commission. We are hoping that, as a way forward, we can have specific recommendations,” he said.

President Bingu wa Mutharika

Other laws include one which prevents citizens from obtaining injunctions against the government, another one which allows President Bingu we Mutharikato call snap elections for local governments, and another which allows the government to shut down newspapers. Mutharika’s increasingly autocratic tendencies have earned the attention of foreign donor nations. Earlier this year, a Wikileaks cable revealed that the British ambassador warned his London superiors that Malawi’s President was becoming increasingly autocratic and intolerant of criticism. Mutharika responded by proving the ambassador’s point and expelled him. Britain then began cutting aid to Malawi as a result in July 2011.

Said Mutharika: “There should not be any nation on this earth that looks down or marginalises the cultures of other countries including their traditions.

“No culture should be called primitive because primitiveness is the state of mind. Civilizations serve a people for a particular time and they cannot be primitive as long as they are useful to those people.”

Laws criminalizing gay people are typically defended with appeals to African traditions and arguments that homosexuality is a Western import.

President Bingu wa Mutharika has bowed down to pressure by ordering that Malawi Law Commission to review some of the repressive laws including a ban on homosexual acts, Justice Minister Ephraim Chiume has said.

Chiume said provisions of the penal code concerning “indecent practices and unnatural acts” would be reviewed.

“In view of the sentiments from the general public and in response to public opinion regarding certain laws, the government wishes to announce to the Malawi nation that it is submitting the relevant laws and provisions of laws to the Law Commission for review,” he said.

It’s hard to imagine that “sentiments from the general public” are responsible for the government’s announcement. Malawi society, like much of Africa, is both very religious and deeply conservative when it comes to sexual matters, and it is also deeply homophobic as a result. This may explain why it’s the anti-gay law which is the focus of Nyassa Times’s coverage which includes a provocative (for Africa) photo of two men kissing. Buried deeper in the article is this:

The President has ordered the law commission to review some of the laws that were enacted recently including Section 46 of the penal code and Local Courts Act in view of concerns from the general public…” reads the statement in part the release.

However, the press release did not indicate time frame for the review and when it will commence.

Other laws that have ignited a public outcry are the Local Courts Act, which empowered traditional leaders to administer justice beyond their jurisdiction; the Injunctions Bill which restrains Malawians from getting temporary reprieve from courts against government; and the Local Government Act, which empowers the President to call for Local Government Elections “in consultation with the Malawi Electoral Commission”.

That doesn’t tell the whole story either. What Nyassa Times doesn’t fully describe is another law, which was reported this way by Kenya’s Daily Nation (which is owned by the same media company that publishes Uganda’s independent Daily Monitor):

The country’s Justice minister Ephraim Mganda Chiume said that some of the laws set for review include Section 46 of the penal code that empowers the Information minister to ban newspapers.

Malawi police used live ammunition to chase anti-government protesters in Lilongwe on July 20, 2011.

So here’s the broader context. Up to now, Mutharika had begun to emulate the tactics of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe through strict police crackdowns on demonstrations and opposition groups as well as measures to muzzle the press. Mutharika has even parroted Mugabe’s rhetoric describing gay people as “worse than dogs.” Earlier this year, a Wikileaks cable revealed that the British ambassador warned his London superiors that Malawi’s President was becoming increasingly autocratic and intolerant of criticism. Mutharika responded by proving the ambassador’s point and expelled him. Britain then began cutting aid to Malawi as a result in July 2011.

Which puts Malawi in a particularly precarious position now that the U.S. has announced that the protection of human rights for LGBT people would now become a foreign policy priority. It’s unclear whether Mutharika’s latest move was a direct response to the U.S. announcement or whether it has been coming anyway in an effort to restore British aid. Discussions over the suspension of British foreign aid have been building for several months. And with British Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement that treatment of LGBT people would affect how Britain directs its foreign aid, the discussions over Malawi’s statutes criminalizing homosexuality were likely already on the table. Now that Malawi is scrambling to get back into the good graces of one major foreign donor, the impoverished nation can ill afford to alienate another.

ThinkProgress found that yesterday’s announcements by the Obama Administration that American international agencies would use their resources to promote human rights for LGBT people worldwide was barely mentioned on American television. It’s getting a bit more play in the newspapers, but since fewer people are getting their news from newspapers, I wonder whether this is something that has, so far, slipped right past most Americans as they go about their days.

In Africa as well, yesterday’s announcement has been met mostly with silence so far, although it generally takes a day or two before stories like this percolate through the press. Neither Uganda’s independent Daily Monitor nor the pro-government New Vision mentioned the story, although Daily Monitor does cover a talk by U.S. Ambassador Jerry Lanier urging Uganda to stand on its own economically, citing hard economic times in the U.S. which may result in lower levels of aid. Kenya’s Daily Nation, which is owned by the same media company as Uganda’s Daily Monitor, also didn’t cover the story. Neither did The Standard.

In Nigeria, where the country’s Senate recently passed a bill which would impose prison sentences for gay relationships and LGBT advocacy, a quick look at the Nigerian Tribune, Daily Sun, Vanguard, and Guardian revealed no mention of the story. The Nationcarried a brief mention of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech in Geneva. That story was pretty straightforward and was limited to quotes from Clinton’s speech. Punch, which I suspect may be a tabloid, although it’s articles are much more “newsy” than a typical tabloid, carried more thorough coverage of the Obama Administration’s policy, which Punch said “signposted the likelihood of a diplomatic showdown between Nigeria and the US, against the backdrop of last week’s passage of an anti-LGBT bill by the Senate.” Punch asked Bola Akinterinwa of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs how the new initiative might affect diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Nigeria. Here’s Punch’s description of that exchange:

He described the bill as part of the country’s ‘municipal law’ which he said was different from international law.

According him, the municipal laws of a country are meant to be obeyed by all agencies and persons residing in the country where such laws are in operation. He said anybody, including foreign envoys, who contravenes the municipal laws can be convicted.

He said, “There is no problem there at all. First of all America has laws, Nigeria has laws. Those laws constitute what they call municipal laws. Municipal laws are quite different from international laws. International laws are also referred to as law of nations. The International law is the one governing all the nations of the world, whereas the municiapal laws govern the affairs of each country.

“If Obama is asking US agencies to promote gay rights or lesbian rights, they can do so. There is no problem as long as they will not infringe on the municipal law of their host countries. If they do, they will be tried based on the municipal law and they will be guilty.”

Senate leader Victor Ndoma-Egba also declared, “Nigeria is an independent nation; we are a sovereign state. We have our own values. We are not going to tie our indigenous values with the values to other nations.” He added, “How many states in the US have legalised same sex marriage? Why can’t they start from inside their own country before going out to other countries?”

In Malawi, which gained international attention when they convicted and later pardoned a same-sex couple for undergoing a traditional engagement ceremony, The Nyasa Timescovered the story with a provocative photo of a “lesbian kiss.” Malawi has already suffered a cut in British aid last summer over a diplomatic row when the British ambassador criticized Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika for his increasingly autocratic actions. The Nyasa Times said that the Malawi President “defends Malawi laws for the criminalisation of sexual orientation when he adopted Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s lingo, describing gays as worse than dogs.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that countries which persecute gay people will find their foreign aid budget cut. International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell also told the Daily Mail that Britain has already cut aid to Malawi over it abuse of human right violation, citing the country’s conviction of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, a same-sex couple who entered into a traditional engagement ceremony in violation of that nation’s anti-sodomy laws.

Mitchell’s comments however don’t quite line up with the chain of events in Malawi. The couple were pardoned by Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika in May, 2010. Earlier this year, a Wikileaks cable revealed that the British ambassador warned that Malawi’s President was becoming increasingly autocratic and intolerant of criticism. Mutharika responded by expelling the ambassador while violently cracking down on dissent in the impoverished nation, thereby proving the ambassador’s point. Britain began cutting aid to Malawi in July 2011.

Malawi received about £200 million from Britain over the past three years, before Britain announced cuts of £19 million.

Mitchell also cited Uganda (which is due to received £70 million this year) and Ghana (which received £36 million each year) as possible targets for future cuts if they enact further criminal legislation against gay people. No mention was made of Zimbabwe, which received £69 million last year.

Fr. George Buleya, Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi

From Malawi’s Nyasa Times, we get this report about statements made by that nation’s Anglican Catholic and Muslim leaders concerning HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and other outreach programs for the local LGBT community. Fr. George Buleya, Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference (Roman Catholic) of Malawi said:

“I believe that there are no homosexuals who are born as such in Malawi but if at all there are some who claim to be, they are moved to do so because of poverty. By the way, why are you forcing us to accommodate homosexuals when there are many thieves, adulterers and a lot of people who do evil?

“Christianity does not work on sociology but morality. To us, we cannot punish those caught in the act but God will,” he said.

Questioned that this might as well retard their fight against the Hiv/Aid pandemic because they will not be able to reach out to the minority groups, Buleya said: “Our effort is to reach out to the faithful and if they are not within our jurisdiction, then, we will not work with them.”

Interesting. For Buleya, the LGBT community isn’t even an opportunity for missionary work.

Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) Secretary General Sheikh Imran Sharif Mohammed’s position is even worse:

“Homosexuality is sin and is punishable by beheading. The Holy Koran clearly states that any community which indulges in these acts is calling for calamities like those that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah,” said Mohammed, a lecture at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College.

“Nobody can change our laws which are both in the Koran, as a primary source and Hadith as our secondary source. These people are enemies and there is no way we can condone them in our communities,” he added.

Malawi’s Vice President Joyce Banda urged a gathering of religious leaders in the commercial capital of Blantyre to address the needs of LGBT people in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Banda’s remarks were delivered to a meeting of the Malawi Interfaith Association, which is meeting to discuss the increasing HIV infection rate among the clergy:

Banda said same-sex liaisons are a reality in Malawi saying there were Men Having Sex with fellow Men (MSMs) and that there were also lesbians, – Women Having Sex With Women.

“I am of the opinion that MIA is strategically positioned to bring faith leaders together to debate on how faith response to HIV and AIDS should reposition itself to tackle the issue of homosexuality without necessarily compromising moral integrity of faith institutions,” Banda a devout Christian said.

She said gays and lesbians are vulnerable groups and that they need to be paid attention by the clergy in the national response to fight HIV/Aids.

Is unclear how clergy might “pay attention” to LGBT people, given the fact that homosexuality is illegal in Malawi (punishable with up to fourteen years’ imprisonment) and widely condemned in society. Malawi gained worldwide attention with the arrest and conviction of Stephen Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga following a traditional marriage ceremony earlier this year. The couple were finally pardoned by President Bingu wa Mutharika. He later described their attempted wedding as “satanic.”LGBT advocates and ordinary citizens have experienced official repression and witch hunts, according to local news media.

The Nyasa Times has an article that somehow managed to catch my attention:

Jali Mateyu, 25, said he developed “strange flesh” two years ago but that it disappeared after he showed his first wife. …The man, who lives in the Chikhwawa district in southern Malawi, said the flesh reappeared in June this year and that his penis had “shrunk and later disappeared”.

He said he had been to herbalists who applied ointments and that now his male genitalia had reappeared alongside the female genitals. Mateyu, who is currently married to his third wife, said he believed his first wife’s mother bewitched him because he left her daughter for his second wife.

This is the same country that arrested, convicted and ultimately pardoned Stephen Mpnjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga following a traditional marriage ceremony. Chimbalanga identifies as a woman. She endured especially abusive treatment during the ordeal. Mateyu, on the other hand, has become something of a celebrity. Go figure.

Once we learned that Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were pardoned by Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika following their sentencing for fourteen years at hard labor for breaking that country’s anti-sodomy laws, I think we all understood that this would mark the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. In our naÃ¯veté, I think many of us assumed that this new chapter would somehow be a more peaceful one. But that was not to be. They’ve split now. Steven announced that he’s taking a wife — a womanly wife. And now it appears that Steven’s betrothed may be the village prostitute. The Malawi press, naturally, are having a field day with all of this.

But reacting to the news, Aunt Tiwo said he was not informed by Monjeza about the split.

“I have just learnt the new from newspaper. I am sad that he has communicated to the press without talking to me,” said Chimbalanga from Lilongwe.

“I respect his decision to marry a woman. He has a right to make that decision but I am also free to marry,” he said.

“I will be married for sure,” said Aunt Tiwo.

The entire world seemed to have placed a lot of hopes in this couple — that they would stay together, settle down, perhaps leave Malawi to seek asylum elsewhere, and just generally live happily ever after. Just like in all of our most beloved movies and fairy tales. But if one were to turn to fictional romance for inspiration, Romeo and Juliet might be a more instructive example: two lovers whose relationship is condemned by all of society, doomed to spend a few rare and furtive moments together before taking their lives. Steven and Tiwonge haven’t ended their lives fortunately, but they have apparently killed off their relationship.

Romeo and Juliet have become fictional heroes for star-crossed lovers everywhere. Steven and Tiwonge probably aren’t destined to be regarded as heroes by a lot of people, and that is unfortunate. National cemeteries are filled with the dead of war, and we decorate the headstones with flags and flowers in memory of their sacrifices. But those wars, too, have produced what we might call the walking wounded: those who struggle with physical wounds and emotional scars. Some of them, most visibly, we see homeless on the streets. “Why can’t they just shower, shave and get a job?” we ask ourselves, completely failing to understand the world from their point of view.

And so many of us make the same mistake with Steven and Tiwonge. “Why don’t they just leave and seek asylum elsewhere?” some ask. That’s much easier said than done. The U.S and Great Britain both have a terrible record of turning away LGBT asylum seekers. Too often, judges and magistrates rule that if they would only stay hidden and behave themselves, they would have no fear of imprisonment or the gallows. Asylum is not an easy option, particularly with the rising anti-immigrant nationalism that has been raising its head in both countries.

Besides, let’s say Steven and Tiwonge are awarded asylum — then what? They’re separated from friends and family, and the only culture they have ever known. They are poorly educated and unable to speak English beyond a few simple phrases. While it’s easy to suspect that Tiwonge may thrive in such a challenging situation — she seems to be the one who has overcome the most hurdles in all of this with her self-assurance intact — it’s no guarantee that either of them would be able to make it, let alone make it together.

In trying to please two very different worlds — the deeply homophobic world that is Malawi society, and the world of the gay community which sees each struggle through the lens of human rights advocacy and heroic struggle — Steven and Tiwonge has satisfied neither very well. It turns out that they just weren’t cut out to be heroes. They were just two crazy lovebirds caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. A lot like a lot of other walking wounded among us.

In fact, heroes rarely triumph personally. For every Rosa Parks, there were countless others lynched, jailed, or otherwise broken. For every war hero, there are homeless veterans. And yet, didn’t they also sacrifice something very dear to them and their families for our freedom?

I suspect that Tiwonge may somehow make us proud, but it looks like Steven will probably disappoint us. He has a drinking problem (can anyone blame him?), he says he was never gay, he’s now marrying a woman, she appears to be a prostitute — did he or someone else pay her to marry him? I don’t know, but one thing I can predict is that whatever twists and turns his life takes from now on, each development will be gleefully detailed in the national press where even the most respectable outlets have failed to hide their contempt and derision.

All of this is a reminder that it’s not always great heroic characters who are called upon to make sacrifices for a besieged community. Sometimes it’s just ordinary people who have neither the constitution nor the wherewithal to be heroes in the classical sense. And yet, they sacrifice anyway, in ways that they may not completely understand or intend. And in that vein, Steven’s and Tiwonge’s sacrifices continue.

Sometimes a guy just can’t get a break. We reported this morning that Steven Monjeza, one of two Malawians whose arrest, conviction, and subsequent pardon for allegedly breaking that country’s sodomy laws, has succumbed to the unimaginably intense pressure from the country’s deeply homophobic society by distancing himself from Tiwonge Chimbalanga and vowing to marry a twenty-four year old woman.

And in a further bid to try to shield himself Malawi’s malevolently homophobic society and avoid re-arrest, he propagated a common myth about homosexuality being a foreign plot, saying that this plot in his case goes all the way back to his arrest:

Monjeza, 26, confessed to a daily published on Tuesday that he was being forced “by other people” to go along with the gay story.

“Although, I claimed that I still love Tiwonge, I did not mean it,” he was quoted in the Nation newspaper as saying: “I have never had sex with him.”

According to the daily, Monjeza claimed that he was tricked to travel to the capital, Lilongwe, to profess his continued love to Tiwonge by unknown people who found him at home drunk and treated him to “a drinking orgy” along the

It’s that last statement, that he never loved nor had sex with Tiwonge — a statement that he made to try to avoid being re-arrested for homosexuality — that has, believe it or not, backfired, with at least one judiciary spokesman now calling for his arrest for perjury:

Update: I’ve found the original article from The Nation, and have revised this report accordingly.

It looks like anti-gay forces in Malawi may have gotten their way after all, if thesereports are to be believed:

In a dramatic twist to the tale of Malawi’s convicted but pardoned gay lovebirds, the man, Steven Monjeza, has dumped his homosexual ‘wife’ Tiwonge Chimbalanga to marry a Blantyre-based woman. Twenty-four-year old Dorothy Gulo on Monday confessed her love for Monjeza whom she described as “a real man capable of doing to women what other men ably do in bed.” She was explicit about the issue and said she had nothing to hide.

Malawi’s government was under tremendous international criticism over the pair’s conviction of “gross indecency” following their December engagement ceremony, including pressure from donor nations which make up 40% of the nation’s gross domestic income. Undoubtedly, the couple themselves have also been subjected to unbearable pressure in turn from the virulently anti-gay government. When Steven and Tiwonge were pardoned of their sentence of fourteen years at hard labor, senior government officials warned that they would be re-arrested if they remained together. President Bingu wa Mutharika used particularly venomous language in denouncing the two following his return on June 2 from a two-day Franco-African summit:

Said Mutharika: “Chimbalanga and Monjeza were being used. I was not about to let this country be led astray or suffer because of two misguided and confused men. That is why I forgave them. To err is human, to forgive is divine.

“It, nonetheless, does not mean I condone their actions. Their actions were disgusting, demeaning and a disregard of our culture, religion and laws. Ndawatchera tsopano madona kuti ndione kuti anenano chani [I am now waiting to hear what else donors will demand from me].”

The President could not hide his disgust for Chimbalanga, dubbed Aunt Tiwo, when he described his movement, body language and exaggerated facial expressions as “stupid, demonic and useless”.

Said Monjeza: “We were pardoned but I know the law can bounce back on us if we are not careful. Although I claimed that I still love Tiwo, I did not mean it. I have never had sex with him as was revealed in court. That is why the medical examination failed to establish any anal penetration. I was coerced into the whole thing.”

According to The Nation, Monjeza now claims that he was never gay, and that his recent press conference came about because he was kidnapped by three unidentified men and forced to attend a “drinking orgy.”

We received another email via LGBT Asylum News saying that the TV interview with Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga was actually recorded last December following their arrest. If so, then that suggests that the interview by government-owned Malawi TV may have been under duress. The interview was removed from Malawi TV’s YouTube channel, but is still available at the Malawi Voice web site.

I got a twitter messages requesting more information on a TV interview between Television Malawi and Tiwonge and Steven. Sorry I can not provide a full transcript. I am very busy, but I’ll give you a brief summary of the conversation. Here it is:

The reporter is trying to get the couple to denounce what they had done (the alleged wedding) and somewhat apologise to Malawian whom the reporter said the couple had offended. The reporter is using leading questions and authoritative language. Tiwonge, one wrapped in a piece of cloth, did very well in answers. He stood for his beliefs – telling the reporter that “he was within his right to chose his sexual orientation”. Steven got a bit more intimidated and didn’t express himself well.

You need to have in mind that this “interview” was taking place last December – just after the arrest. So the two were still in custody (this – in my opinion – means the interview should not have taken place because it could influence the ruling).

You also need to have in mind that most Malawians – including “leading reports” bought into what I consider stupid consipiracy theory that the couple had been payed by international LGBT campaigners to stage the “wedding” in order to see how Malawi authorities would react. I don’t know the origins of the theory but Malawi is very conservative and religious country so the theory could have its basis on the grounds that religious folks are trying to say Malawians cannot have same sex couples, which is ridiculous because they know it happens undergrounds.

It also think it is a fair assessment that the reporter was (is) ignorant about LGBT issues and he didn’t do his homework for the interview. In the end he felt safer to intimidate them – which was more than possible because the were in custody – rather than have a rational conversation, which the couple could have easily won.

It is also a possibility that the reporter acted on instructions from his bosses because otherwise the interview should not have been aired as it had the potential to pervert a course of justice.

In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.

When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.

In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.

From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”

On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.

Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!

Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.

Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.

Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.

The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.